Metal-rolling process and apparatus



Oct. 14, 1930. A. R. EARNEST METAL ROLLING PROCESS AND APPARATUS 3 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct.

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Oct. 14, 1930. A. R. EARNEST METAL ROLLING PROCESS AND APPARATUS I Filed Oct. 3' 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ALBERT fiflw/vasr 61%; h ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 14, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE IR. EABNEST, DIE BUFFALO, NEW YORK Application filed October 3, 192:. Serial no. 310,056.

This invention relates to process and apparatus for rolling bars of round or circular cross section in such a manner that bars of greater accuracy of diameter can be produced.

In the usual process now employed for rolling bars or circular cross-section, the billets and bars formed therefrom are passed successively between series of pairs of rolls which gradually reduce the cross-sectional area of the metal while hot and elongate the same, the cross sectional shape of the bars being changed by successive pairs of rolls and the Dual pair 01 rolls forming the bars into circular cross section as near as possible of the diameter desired. In such processes, the diameters of the bars could not be maintained within the necessary limits of accuracy to enable the bars to be used for certain purposes without additional steps being taken to bring about the necessary accuracy. Such bars either had to be machined to the correct diameter or in some cases the bars were subjected to a further rolling or drawing operation after being discharged from the final passage of the rolling mill, which, however, required an additional step and materially increased the cost of producing bars of the desired accuracy.

The objects of this invention are to provide a process of rolling and apparatus for use in connection with the process whereby the bars while still in the last pass of'a rolling mill are subjected to the action of rolls which rotate about the periphery of the bar and which reduce the bar to the size desired; also to provide a process and apparatus in accordance with which the rolls which reduce the bars to their final diameters are rotated about their axis only by contact with the work; also to provide a process and appara tus of this kind to which bars are fed by the last pass of a rolling mill; also to provide a process and apparatus of this kind by means of which the rolls which rotate about the axis of the bar can be readily adjusted in accordance with the diameter of the bars desired; also to improve processes and apparatus of this kind in other respects hereinafter specified.

the work.

Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically the last pair of rolls A and A through which the ars pass in the usual rolling process and from which the bars are ordinarily discharged through the usual guide B, the rolls A and A being provided with the usual peripheral grooves of semicircular cross section, (not shown) which give the bars their final shape. It is well-known that rolling mills of this kind cannot uniformly produce bars within much less than approximately ten thousandths of an inch of the diameter desired, while in many kinds of work, for example, in the manufacture of automobile plrdengines parts, greater accuracy must be In order to produce this desired accuracy in the diameters of the bars without adding materially to the cost of the bars, the bars immediately upon their discharge from the rolls A and A and guide B are subjected to the action of a plurality of rolls, for example three, arranged about the bar or work X. These rolls can be accurately adjusted toward each other to form the work so that the diameter will approach much more closely to that desired, and so that the bars will be of true cii cular cross section. Since these rolls are adjustable they can be readily set nearer to each other or further apart so that the desired accuracy of the work can be maintained and so that the apparatus may be used in connection with bars of different diameters. The work is passed between these rolls b means of the rolling mill itself so that no a ditional handling of the work after the same leaves the rolling mill is necessary, and no additional power unit is required to pass the bars through my improved apparatus.

In the particular embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings, three rolls C are provided which are preferably tapered at the work receiving ends thereof, as indicated at 10 to facilitate the entry of the work between the rolls, and these rolls are mounted in a revolving housingD, which is rotatably mounted on the fixed base E of the a paratus. In the particular construction shown this base is provided with upwardly extending bearing edestals 12 and 13 having bearings 14 an 15 therein on which the hub portions 16 and 17 of the revolving housin are rotatabl mounted.

The housing may be rotated by any suitable or desired means, and for this purpose in the construction shown, the hub 17 is extended to form a hollow shaft 18 on which a pulley 19 is secured, which pulley is driven by means of a belt 20. The outer end of the hollow shaft is suitably .journaled in a. hearing provided in the bearing pedestal 22 extending upwardly from the base E of the apparatus. Any other means for rotating the rotary housing D may be provided if desired.

The revolving housing D may be of any suitable construction that shown including a cylindrical wall 25 and an end wall 26, formed integral with each other and with the hub portion 17. The other end of the cylinder portion 25 is closed by means of an end wall 27 suitably secured to the cylindrical wall 25, for exam le, by means of bolts or screws 28 exten 'ng through registering holes in the end wall 27 and the cylindrical wall 25, ,two of these bolts being shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The hub 16 is preferably formed integral with the end wall 27. A housing of different construction may, of course, be provided if desired.

The rolls O are journaled at their ends in the two end walls 26 and 27 of the housing D, and for this purpose both of the end walls are provided with radially extending recesses 30 formed in the inner faces thereof, and these recesses are provided with bearings 31 slidable radially in the recesses 30.

, The rolls C in the construction shown are provided with shafts 32 which are j ournaled in the bearings 31, preferably roller bearings, as shown. The rolls C are thus freely.

rotatable in the housing D.

The bearings may be adjusted toward and from the axis of. rotation of the drum D by any suitable or desired means. For example, set screws 35 may be arranged in threaded holes in the end walls 26 and 27 so that the ends of the set screws terminatein the recesses 30 and restrict the outward movement of the hearings in the recesses. Consequently by turning the set screws in their threaded holes, the bearings 31 can be adjusted to limit the outward movement thereof, and of the rolls C when in contact with the work. The set screws may be secured in this position by means of lock nuts 36.

The bars discharged from the rolling mill are fed to the rolls through a central passage 38 in the hub 16 of the housing, which passage is preferably made flaring at its outer end to facilitate the insertion of the work into the aperture. The work after having been acted upon by the rolls C is discharged from the apparatus shown through another passage 39 in the hub portion 16 and shaft 18, through which it is discharged from the apparatus. The receiving end of the aperture39 is also preferably flared to facilitate the entering of the work thereinto.

In accordance with my process, the work is first passed through the rolling mill in the usual manner and when the bar leaves the final pair of rolls A and A it is passed through the guide B into the passage 38 of the rapidly revolving drum D. The metal thus enters between the three rolls G which have been adjusted, in accordance with the diameter of the work desired.

During the longitudinal passage of the bar through the drum D, the rapid rotation of the drum causes the rolls C to roll about the bar due to contact therewith, and to form the same into truly cylindrical shape and also to roll the diameter of the bar to a size in accordance with which the rolls are adjusted by means of the set screws 35 or other adjusting means. The bars while op erated upon by the rolls C, are held against rotation by the rolls A and A of the rolling mill, and are also fed lengthwise through the housin D by the rolls A, the ends of the bars after leaving the rolls A and A passing through the housing D because of the momentum of the bar. The bars, when passing through the space between the three rolls, are rolled not only to the desired diameter, but of truly circular cross-section,

since any irregularities occuringin the sur-- faces of the bars after leaving the rolls A and A are rectified by the rolls G.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for rolling bars including a revolvable housing having an axial passage therein adapted to receive bars, a rolling mill including a pair of final rolls arranged in close roximityto said passa e and disposed to ischarge a bar into said passage and to hold the same against turning while passing through said passage, and

a plurality of rolls freely journaled on said housing beyond their rolling surfaces, said rolls having their peripheries in contact with the bar and being rotated by contact with the bar.

2. An apparatus for rolling bars including a revolvable housing having an axial passage therein adapted to receive bars, a rolling-mill including a pair of final rolls arranged in close proximity to said passage and disposed to discharge a bar into said passage and to hold the same against turning while passing through said passage, a plurality of rolls freely journaled on said house ing beyond their rolling surfaces, said rolls having their peripheries in contact with the bar and being rotated by contact with the bar and means for adjusting said rolls toward and from the axis of rotation of said housing in accordance with the size of the bar desired.

3. The process of rolling rounds to accurate dimensions and shape, which comprises passing a heated bar through the passes of a rolling mill to reduce its size approximately to, but slightly larger than, the diameter desired, and immediately as the bar leaves the passes of the mill, and while still held a ainst rotation thereby, rolling a plurality 0% reducing rollers around the bar in a peripheral direction under suflicient pressure to complete the reduction of the bar to the accurate size desired.

4. The process of rolling rounds to accurate dimensions and shape, which comprises passing a heated bar through the passes of a rolling mill to reduce its size approximately to, but slightly larger than, the diameter desired, then immediately as the bar leaves the passes of the mill, and while still held against rotation thereby, rolling reducing rollers around the bar in a peripheral direction, and applying reducmg pressure tothe ends of said rollers beyond the rolling surfaces, to complete the reduction of the bar to the accurate diameter desired.

ALBERT R. EARNEST. 

